This invention relates to a combination of a hearing aid adapted to be supported upon the head of a user of the aid, and a remote control unit. In a known combination of the aforesaid type the remote control unit comprises, control means, that can be operated manually by the user, an encoder unit having an input coupled to the control means and an output, and a transmitter having an input coupled to the output of the encoder unit. The encoder unit is adapted to convert control operations carried out by the user of the control means into a first control signal and to apply this first control signal via its output to the transmitter, for the wireless transmission of the first control signal. The hearing aid comprises a pick-up for receiving the first control signal transmitted by the transmitter of the remote control unit, a decoder unit having an input coupled to the pick-up for receiving the first control signal and an output, the decoder unit being adapted to convert the first control signal into a second control signal for controlling at least one operational parameter of the hearing aid. The invention further relates to a remote control unit and a hearing aid for use in the type of combination. The combination described in the opening paragraph is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 1.938.381.
Headworn hearing aids of the eyeglass, behind-the-ear, in-the-ear or in-the-earcanal type generally contain a miniature microphone and a miniature receiver as well as an electronic amplifier for signal amplification and/or filtering.
With hearing aids becoming ever smaller as well as more reliable, the on-off switch and the volume control are becoming more and more of a problem. Manipulation of the ever smaller buttons, especially for elderly people, is a problem, while the switches and controls are generally the weakest part of the aid and more than other elements of aids are subject to the environmental conditions.
A solution for the problems described above can be found in the above-mentioned German Offenlegungsschrift 1.938.381. By means of the inductive coupling between coils in the remote control unit and the hearing aid it is possible to change the operational parameters of the aid, such as switching the aid on and off, changing the amplification factor of the amplifier or amending the frequency response characteristics of the aid.
However, coils occupy a large amount of space, which is sometimes not even available, such as in the in-the-earcanal type. This means that the hearing aids are either very bulky, or it is not even possible to apply a remote control to the aid, which remote control can hardly be dispensed with in the in-the-ear canal type of hearing aid.